Chapter 3: Independence

Question 1

What did British General Gage do over the winter of 1774-75?

Answer 1

Sent spies to assess the strength of colonial resistance & discover where their weapons were stockpiled

Question 2

What was the first battle of the American War for Independence?

Answer 2

Lexington & Concord 1775

Question 3

What happened at Lexington & Concord?

Answer 3

70 minutemen blocked British troops at Lexington - battle broke out & 8 colonists were killed
The British then destroyed military stores in Concord, but failed to arrest military leaders & were forced to retreat to Boston. British lost 273 men, Americans lost only 92.

Question 4

What were the results of Lexington & Concord?

Answer 4

Galvanised military prep throughout the colonies - New York & Pennsylvania threw themselves behind Massachusetts

Question 5

When was the Second Continental Congress?

Answer 5

May 1775

Question 6

What was discussed at the Second Continental Congress?

Answer 6

Take charge of the war, raise money for the militia.
65 delegates attended, mostly the same as for the first
Voted to issue $2m for military funds
Unanimously appointed George Washington to lead the Colonial Army

Question 7

What was used in an attempt to avoid war in 1775?

Answer 7

The Olive Branch petition - called directly upon King George III to prevent further hostile measures: didn’t work.

Question 8

When was the Battle of Bunker Hill?

Answer 8

June 1775

Question 9

What happened at the Battle of Bunker Hill?

Answer 9

General Howe launched an attack on 1500 rebel men occupying Breed’s Hill (by mistake).
Howe lost over 1000 men, but the Americans were dislodged.
This was the bloodiest battle of the entire war, and showed the British that the colonial army wasn’t just ‘rabble’.

Question 10

Which generals arrived in Boston in May 1775? Why were they sent there?

Answer 10

Generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne
Reinforced Gage - now had 6,500 men

Question 11

What was the colonial army like when Washington took command?

Answer 11

15,000 poorly trained, poorly equipped, and poorly disciplined troops. They had under 50 cannon, and few trained gunners.

Question 12

What did George Washington do to improve the Colonial army when he first took command?

Answer 12

Incompetent officers & those accused of misconduct were removed
Those officers who remained got special insignia to differentiate from normal troops
Discipline was introduced - offences from card playing to desertion were punished by flogging

Question 13

How many Colonial soldiers beseiged Boston after Lexington & Concord?

Answer 13

20,000

Question 14

What happened in Boston 1775-76?

Answer 14

The British remained holed up doing nothing
American besiegers were actually outnumbered due to the cold winter & falling numbers

Question 15

When did the colonists invade Canada?

Answer 15

1775

Question 16

Why did the colonists invade Canada in 1775?

Answer 16

To try and get support from the French colonists in Canada

Question 17

What happened in the invasion of Canada in 1775?

Answer 17

Richard Montgomery was sent up to capture Montreal, while Benedict Arnold was sent through Maine to help him.
The attack failed - Montgomery was killed & Arnold wounded, led to the americans falling back & abandoning Montreal.

Question 18

What went on during the early war in the Southern colonies?

Answer 18

Lord Dunmore led raids on Virginian coastal towns with his force of 500 loyalists
Loyalists in North Carolina defeated at Moores Creek in 1776
Clinton tried & failed to take Charleston in 1776

Question 19

When was the Evacuation of Boston?

Answer 19

March 1776

Question 20

Why did the Evacuation of Boston happen?

Answer 20

Washington got artillery from Fort Ticonderoga moved to Boston & captured Dorchester Heights, which overlooked Boston. This led to Howe’s army evacuating to Nova Scotia.

Question 21

Why did the political tide move towards Independence in 1776?

Answer 21

It was clear there would be no reconciliation with Britain

Question 22

What pamphlet made Independence a part of the colonial mood in 1776?

Answer 22

‘Common Sense’ - by Thomas Paine

Question 23

What was called for in ‘Common Sense’?

Answer 23

The establishment of a Republic free from things like aristocracy and hereditary bloodline

Question 24

What was the situation in the colonies by 1776?

Answer 24

All royal governors had been replaced with rebel governments
Congress held sovereign powers
America was basically already independent, but support had to come from all colonies.
Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Maryland all refused to agree to independence as of yet.

Question 25

Who were some prominent figured that worked on the draft declaration of independence in 1776?

Answer 25

Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams

Question 26

What was the result of the first congress vote on independence?

Answer 26

9 colonies voted in favour
South Carolina & Pennsylvania voted against
Delaware nominees were split
New York abstained

Question 27

What was the result of the second congress vote on independence?

Answer 27

Delaware sent a third delegate to support independence
South Carolina’s delegates changed their minds
Pennsylvania’s delegates against independence didn’t show up the next day
New York still abstained

Question 28

When was the declaration of independence adopted?

Answer 28

4 July 1776

Question 29

How important were economic factors in causing independence?

Answer 29

Customs duties and trade laws were considered oppressive.
However, american colonists were some of the most lightly taxed on earth, and could afford them, so it was more an ideological opposition rather than an economic one.

Question 30

How important were ideological factors in causing independence?

Answer 30

American political ideology owed much to Liberalist thought, and caused this idea of the British governmne trying to take away their freedoms. This is arguably what led to the breakdown in relations

Question 31

How important was British policy in causing independence?

Answer 31

Several acts to raise money caused irritation and hostility among the colonies - always resulted in confrontation.
When Lord North decided to stand his ground, there weren’t enough British troops to assert authority over the colonies.